Scaling Good Manufacturing Processes Education to Small-Scale Processors

March 31, 2021Food Safety

By Tricia Wancko, Food Safety Grant Coordinator Many small-scale farms and food businesses—whether they are chopping, canning, preserving, aggregating, or dehydrating value-added products—might not know where to begin when navigating the Preventive Controls Rule (PCR) of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). While many of these small processors may be exempt from parts of the rule, they still must comply with Current Good Manufacturing Processes (cGMPs). CGMPs are the foundation for … Read More

Good Practices Bring Great Results for Small Farms

March 18, 2021Blog, Food Safety

By Billy Mitchell, NFU FSMA Training Coordinator “Camaraderie with the whole team.”  “Much more fun!”  “Peace of mind.”  For most farmers, those phrases may conjure up memories of early fall picnics with staff, family, and friends after the season has slowed down. But for growers Kim Butz, Nathan Vannette, and Roberto Meza, those were the phrases that came to … Read More

What the American Rescue Plan Means for Food and Farmers

March 15, 2021Blog

By Hannah Packman, National Farmers Union Communications Director Last week, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package. At the organization’s convention in early March, National Farmers Union (NFU) members urged lawmakers to “enact much-needed short-term Covid-19 relief” and outlined their priorities for such an endeavor. Among other things, they recommended measures … Read More

Oklahoma Women’s Cooperative Gives Back

March 8, 2021Blog, Member Spotlight

By Melody Aufill, AFR/OFU Member, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Ag in the Classroom Coordinator As I sat down to write this article, Oklahoma was in the middle of a massive weather event! An ice storm raced across the prairie bringing wide-spread devastation to trees, power lines, and structures. In Oklahoma, we talk about the weather often … Read More

Meeting Urban Growers’ Unique Produce Safety Needs

March 4, 2021Food Safety

By Billy Mitchell, NFU FSMA Training Coordinator One of the many lessons I’ve learned, or I should say re-learned, over the past year is how important titles can be. I’ve gone from searching “15-minute yoga” on YouTube to the more specific “15-minute Zoom fatigue yoga.” It may be mostly the same content, but if “Zoom” … Read More

Cold Temps, Hot Food Safety Projects

February 24, 2021Blog, Food Safety

By Tricia Wancko, Food Safety Grant Coordinator Punxsutawney Phil has decreed six more weeks of what has shaped up to be a frigid winter, but there are plenty of food safety projects to catch up on while the fields are frozen and you’re keeping toasty inside your burrow. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Outreach Program … Read More

New Year, New Water Test

January 7, 2021Food Safety

By Billy Mitchell, NFU Food Safety Training Coordinator Organize the tools. Clean the barn. Patch the pants. As farmers make their New Year’s resolutions, produce growers have an extra one to add: test the water. Contaminated water is often the culprit of produce-related food borne illnesses – but with proper precautions, it can be avoided. … Read More

How the Justice for Black Farmers Act Levels the Playing Field

December 22, 2020Blog

By Mackenzie Jeter, NFU Intern A hundred years ago, agriculture was a relatively diverse profession in the United States: a million Black farmers operated about 14 percent of the country’s farms. The makeup of the modern agricultural workforce could not look more different. Today, there are just 48,000 Black farmers – a 95 percent decline … Read More